Happy Valley makes headlines pretty regularly as it tops lists with accolades like #1 Least Stressful City (Psychology Today), top places to start a business (Entrepreneur Magazine) and top adventure town (National Geographic). When we start adding in Penn State's rankings like 2017 Best Colleges on Niche.com and America's Best Graduate Schools 2018 in U.S. News & World Report, it's clear that Happy Valley has combined a great place to live with a great place to study and the result is a great learning atmosphere for everyone from preschoolers to retirees. Here are some of our favorite reasons why Happy Valley is a great place for everyone to learn!
QUALITY: As a state, Pennsylvania ranks higher than the national average in K-12 performance rating according to Education Week. Recently, the Keystone State came in eighth out of 50 states with an average performance grade of B-. The national average is a C.
State College High School is among the Top 55 schools in the state according to U.S. News and World Report. It was recently awarded a silver medal for the success its students achieved in math and English and advanced placement courses.
NEXT LEVEL RESOURCES: State College is know nationally as a college town. Thus, there are some resources available for high school students looking to get an early taste of next-level learning.
There are many summer opportunities and camps that Penn State University offers high school students looking to explore potential fields of study and get a head start in their chosen career paths.
These students have opportunities to work hands-on with Penn State faculty in multiple departments including agriculture, communications, engineering, business and more.
SAFETY: Whether your kids will walk to school, ride a bike or wait at a bus stop to get a ride, you’ll be comforted to know they’ll do so in a relatively safe and secure environment.
State College has been consistently ranked among the safest, most secure places to live in the United States. Sperling’s Best Places – which uses U.S. Census data in its reports – ranked State College the safest small metropolitan area to live in the country out of 117 towns.
Meanwhile, Farmers Insurance Group of Companies ranked State College No.2 behind Ithaca, N.Y. in its list of Top 20 most secure small towns (fewer than 150,000 residents) in America.
This aspect of life in Happy Valley appeals especially to families, young professionals and retirees looking for a place to live where they get out and about enjoying recreation, events and attractions.
AGE DIVERSITY: More and more professionals are 'unretiring' to Happy Valley – wrapping up a career and launching into the lifelong learning opportunities offered by Penn State and places like Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, where they can take courses on topics like climate change, 3-D printing and Shakespeare. It offers a true community atmosphere with great food, concerts, plays, athletics, and philanthropic events. At the other end of the spectrum, our youngest learners have educational choices that range from charter schools, private and public schools. Summers offer rich options with Science-U camps in favorites like PreMed, Nittany Bots and CSI, and sports camps honing skills in football, wrestling and more.
